History · Hanceville

Hanceville’s post office opened in 1872

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #123 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Hanceville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office

0on the National Register

4%homes built before 1940

3famous people

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Quick answers

How Hanceville began

When was Hanceville founded?

1872

The Hanceville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 150 in 18802020 census: 3,217154 years

How historic is Hanceville?

C⁻

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Hanceville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Hanceville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hanceville is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #123 of 187 in Alabama. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hanceville’s overall grade.

Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 19403.9% of homes (±5.7) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%C National RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%

NewerOlder

Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 34%

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hanceville’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Hanceville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hanceville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hanceville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hanceville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

The story

How Hanceville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hanceville.

Read it all →

Founded in Blount County, Hanceville was established in 1832 and incorporated in May 1879. At the time of Cullman County's creation in 1877, half of Hanceville resided in each county. In 1885, county boundaries were redrawn and all of Hanceville was placed within Blount County. In 1901, county boundaries were redrawn again and this time all of the town was placed within Cullman County, in which it has remained.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hanceville, 1872 to 1969

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1872Post officeThe Hanceville post office opens
20th century
1916Born hereCortez Gray is born here
1938Born hereAllen Green is born here
1940Born hereCandi Staton is born here
1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Hanceville, decade by decade

Today32 recent

2017Alabama National Guard

Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery

2010Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Our Lady of t…

On the map

Hanceville on the map, 1969 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hanceville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1969Hanceville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hanceville.

People over time

Hanceville, census by census

Grew from 150 people in 1880 to 3,217 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hanceville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Hanceville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Candi StatonAmerican singer–songwriter · b. 1940

Allen GreenAmerican football player · b. 1938

Cortez GrayAmerican basketball player · b. 1916

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Garden CityIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Hanceville’s history

What year was Hanceville founded?

The Hanceville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hanceville rank for history?

Hanceville is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #123 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Hanceville?

4% of Hanceville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1981.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (31), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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